Student athletes in programs at Barnstable High School may have one extra form to fill out in the coming weeks if a new policy pertaining to concussions is approved, but it’s in the interest of preventing head injuries.

In keeping with a State Dept. of Public Health mandate, the Barnstable Athletic Program crafted a concussion policy aimed at keeping student athletes safer during sporting events, presenting it for an initial reading at the Feb. 7 school committee meeting.

The policy was drafted by a team that included Gina Hurley, director of pupil personnel services, Steve Francis, Barnstable athletic director, Jayson Newell, Barnstable music teacher, and Dr. Paul Marz, a local pediatrician who also works with the BHS football team during its regular season.

Under the new policy, athletes will be required to have a parent fill out a head injury report detailing past head injuries, including concussions.

Coaches, athletic trainers, volunteers and those working directly with BHS athletic teams will be required to take an online concussion training course each season, with parents and student athletes also encouraged to take the same course.

Of concern was the option in the Barnstable policy not to use a computerized baseline test recommended in a sample policy provided by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Marz explained that while the computerized test, known as Impact, had been used in some areas, not enough long-term data had been gathered regarding its use to warrant the cost of requiring it in Barnstable.

“To adopt a brand name product without any kind of scientific background and write it into the policy I think is an error,” Marz told the school committee at its Feb. 7 meeting.

Instead, the district will analyze the head injury reports. Should a report reveal a past head injury or concussion, it will be submitted to Dr. Marz for review, as well as to establish a baseline for that student. Should a student suffer a head injury during the season, a report regarding that injury will also be required. Report forms are currently available on the athletic department’s website (http://www.barnstable.k12.ma.us/bhs/sportclubs/sports.html).

Baseline testing will be based on information from head injury reports and with regards to the risk involved in the activity a student may engage in.

Marz said that the team is also working to develop a protocol that will be used to keep track of injuries via computer. It is anticipated such a protocol will be put in place in Sept. 2012.

The protocol will also help the district in maintaining its files, which will be reviewed per state law every two years.

Francis noted that the Barnstable Athletic Program has a full-time trainer on staff, Keith Chagaris, who also assisted in drafting the policy.

“He is the gatekeeper if something should happen on the field for most games, with the exception of football when Dr. Marz is there as well,” Francis said.

Francis said there is also an extra trainer on hand during heavy home game schedules, and that it is the trainers, not the coaches, who determine whether an athlete can return to the game.

“The coaches are not the gatekeepers whether that child goes back on the field,” Francis said. “They never make that decision. It’s always our medical staff. That is a huge benefit to our kids that many other schools don’t have.”

Because the DPH has required school districts to have a concussion policy in place by March 1, a formal vote on the policy is expected at the Feb. 28 school committee meeting.